S-Rank Healer Gets Kidnapped First – Chapter 44

Author: isuzuuy

Could it be that my belongings were still there?

Had they never thrown them away?

I stared at the teddy bear and let out a hollow laugh.

But the question only lasted for a moment.

Whatever the reason was, what did it matter?

Even using something that carried good memories in such a way was exactly the kind of scheme the Association would pull.

‘Do Joo-yeon might be involved too.’

The other members of the First Team didn’t properly know the story behind the teddy bear.

So the only person who could have come up with a plan to use the teddy bear to shake me emotionally was Do Joo-yeon.

Without stopping my healing, I looked around the area.

Between or inside the collapsed buildings, in the blind alleys, even among the crowds.

There was no sign of Do Joo-yeon anywhere.

‘It definitely seems like the Association is behind this. But how?’

A monster that couldn’t be damaged by attacks?

There was no such thing in this world.

If something like that existed, the Association would be just as helpless against it.

‘Did they use a summoner to bring the monster here?’

Even this was difficult to figure out exactly how they had done it.

Had they possessed the teddy bear with a monster?

Were they controlling it?

Or were they using some kind of dark sorcery?

‘…Dark sorcery?’

The moment that word crossed my mind, I suddenly realized something.

I watched the movements of my allies for a moment.

“We may need to lower the minimum damage required to inflict damage on the monster! Everyone, launch a full-scale attack! Get ready! Attack!”

“Attack!”

The people who had come with Na Ye-ri to provide support continued moving without giving up.

Each of them shouted the names of their skills and launched their attacks at the monster.

BOOM!

The attacks flew straight toward the monster and struck it, but it didn’t even flinch.

It was nothing more than a lump of stuffing wrapped in cloth, yet our attacks weren’t working.

Even though I was seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe it.

‘There has to be a reason why the attacks aren’t working. We need to find its weakness.’

Click.

A gun being loaded sounded from beside me.

There were no snipers on this rooftop, so the source of the sound was Cha Seohae.

‘Come to think of it, Cha Seohae said that only his attacks worked.’

I held my breath and watched him.

Cha Seohae aimed at the monster, which was heading toward an area crowded with people.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Exactly three gunshots rang out.

All three bullets struck the monster’s outstretched leg—its thigh, knee, and shin.

Although strength wasn’t necessarily proportional to size, the monster in front of us was enormous and intimidating.

How much damage could such tiny bullets possibly inflict?

Everyone focused on Cha Seohae’s attack.

―GRAAAH!

The teddy bear let out a ferocious roar.

THUD.

But because the leg it needed to step on had been injured, it helplessly collapsed.

‘It really worked.’

I fell into thought as I watched the sequence of events.

“Now! Full-scale attack!”

The other Baekyang Hunters gathered their strength once again.

“…It’s useless.”

Just as I was hoping that an attack during the monster’s weakened state might work, Han Seong-woo spoke.

I looked at Han Seong-woo, who spoke in a powerless voice.

BOOM!

The combined attack seemed to hit the monster properly, producing a heavier impact than before.

Thick gray smoke rose into the sky.

“……”

I checked just in case.

“This time, too, the attacks didn’t work….”

“How are we supposed to defeat it…?”

Just as Han Seong-woo said, the monster was completely unharmed.

The Hunters’ morale began to fall.

We had dealt a considerable amount of damage.

We had even changed our attack methods several times.

And yet, none of them worked unless Cha Seohae attacked.

Naturally, everyone was beginning to lose hope.

“U-Ugh! The monster’s getting back up! It’s over! Run!”

“The Baekyang Hunters can’t even display their abilities! We’re screwed!”

People screamed and scattered.

“I’ll go help evacuate the people.”

Na Ye-ri wiped the despair from her face and descended to the ground.

She cast shields over the heads of people who were fleeing in panic.

―GRAAAH!

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Perhaps enraged by Cha Seohae’s attacks, the monster began smashing every building around it.

Even though its arms were made of stuffing, the buildings crumbled like sandcastles.

“Cha Seohae, keep that bastard occupied. I’ll get the healer somewhere safe—”

“No. There’s no need.”

Han Seong-woo stopped in the middle of trying to evacuate me.

Cha Seohae also looked at me.

“We could get into serious trouble if we stay here!”

“It’s okay. I figured out why only Cha Seohae’s attacks work.”

“…What?”

“What?”

Han Seong-woo and Cha Seohae reacted simultaneously.

I calmly explained as I looked at them.

“That monster is fake.”

“…?”

“…Ah.”

Han Seong-woo clearly had no idea what I meant, while Cha Seohae’s delayed reaction showed that he had understood.

“So you’re saying that teddy bear is an illusion?”

Cha Seohae asked after catching on.

I nodded, but Han Seong-woo hurriedly gestured at me.

“Wait a second. If it’s made of an illusion, does that mean the teddy bear doesn’t actually exist right now?”

“No, it does have a physical form. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be impossible for it to take damage when attacked?”

“Then….”

“It’s an illusion based on a physical object. It’s difficult to cast an illusion on multiple people, so they cast it on an object instead. That’s why attacks don’t work unless you have the ability to dispel illusions, and that’s also why it couldn’t block attacks.”

Han Seong-woo blinked.

“Think about it simply. It means we just need to dispel the illusion.”

“How do we do that…?”

“Isn’t it strange that only Cha Seohae’s attacks work? He’s an S-Rank Hunter and a dealer, just like you. Why don’t your attacks work while he does?”

Han Seong-woo also seemed to find that strange and nodded.

“It’s the enhancement option.”

“The option?”

“Cha Seohae’s weapon gained a mental resistance option when he enhanced it this time.”

After hearing my explanation, a glimmer appeared in Han Seong-woo’s eyes.

“Even though this was a raid where even a slight delay in responding or arriving could put people in danger, the Association didn’t issue an alert. That means they don’t want the situation to become public. They only wanted Baekyang, who was close to the monster’s location, to know.”

“Yes.”

“And then there’s the monster’s appearance. That’s the teddy bear I used to have when I was at the Association.”

At those words, Cha Seohae quietly looked at me.

Without giving him time to respond, I continued explaining.

“The only person who could have thought of using that teddy bear to lure me out is Do Joo-yeon. And among them, the one capable of creating an illusion that makes attacks ineffective is the illusionist, Kang Si-hyeon.”

―Wow, Cha Seohae. Who would’ve thought that crappy enhancement option would end up saving you?

Na Ye-ri, who had been listening through the radio, suddenly spoke.

Although she was talking to Cha Seohae, I was the one surprised by her sudden interruption.

“I’ll buff everyone else. Use illusion dispelling or mental resistance.”

Weapon options were just that—options.

The superior version of those effects was a healer’s buff.

With a buff, the effect would undoubtedly be far more powerful and reliable than a weapon option.

I immediately applied buffs related to mental resistance evenly to the Baekyang Guild members.

“I’ve buffed the guild members. Ye-ri, can you coordinate things from below?”

―Of course.

“Shouldn’t we go too?”

Han Seong-woo asked after listening to my conversation with Na Ye-ri.

I shook my head.

“Now that they’ve received the buff, they’ll be able to defeat the monster quickly. There’s one S-Rank tank and several A-Ranks there, after all. We need to go help the others.”

“The others would be….”

If Kang Si-hyeon was still operating without any changes to the members, Jang Jeong-in would be there as well.

Considering Jang Jeong-in’s class, there were only a few places where they would need our help and where they were likely to be.

I spoke confidently.

***

“Haha! Look at them! They failed several times and still haven’t figured out what’s going on? They should’ve run away instead of bringing reinforcements.”

Jang Jeong-in was busy laughing mockingly as he watched the situation below.

“The place that really needs reinforcements is right here.”

His eyes shifted behind him.

Three Baekyang snipers were tied together there.

The neat and sturdy knots were Do Joo-yeon’s handiwork.

“At this rate, they’ll just cause more unnecessary casualties. Our Yeon-hee is going to have a hard time healing all those idiots without a plan.”

“You’re still saying that disgusting stuff?”

Kang Si-hyeon scolded Jang Jeong-in, who was standing beside him.

Jang Jeong-in merely shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, hurry up and find Yeon-hee. That way, I can attack while Joo-yeon hyung goes to retrieve her.”

“I’m already looking. No need to rush me.”

Kang Si-hyeon quickly moved his eyes as he looked down below.

‘She must be here.’

He knew better than anyone that Moon Yeon-hee had what could be called a professional habit.

After all, they were the ones who had forced her into developing it in the first place.

‘There’s no way she doesn’t know what we did. Then Cha Seohae would’ve told her not to come to the scene, and Moon Yeon-hee would’ve ignored him and come anyway. But why…?’

Why couldn’t he see her?

Kang Si-hyeon furrowed his brow.

Even aside from Moon Yeon-hee’s professional habit, there was evidence.

The Baekyang Guild members were pointlessly firing explosions into the air without showing any signs of exhaustion.

Even those who had been injured were now completely healed and moving around.

That meant there had to be a healer here.

“…Wait.”

Kang Si-hyeon muttered as though he couldn’t believe it.

At the same time, Jang Jeong-in frowned and asked,

“Hey, what the hell is going on down there?”

“……”

“That monster. The Baekyang guys’ attacks are actually working on it.”